by Jody - January 16, 2004

Ever since Xenogears was released awhile ago on the Playstation, we have all wondered exactly where all of it came from. Even by playing through the entire game and learning all there is to know, you still did not, in fact, know anything. Now, with the recent release of the first game in the series, Xenosaga, we learn a lot about the world around it.

Despite the long cinemas, Xenosaga is really awesome.

As you play this game, you�ll notice two big things (gameplay wise) � the fighting system and the RPG-system. Now, onto the storyline.

This game is set 4,000 into the future. Having given up the planet Earth, we fled to another planet. Waiting there for some time, we were eventually attacked by the Gnosis. Discovering the magical relic, the Zohar, we find out that there is more to this mystery than is told.

Going into this game and playing for some time, I can safely say that you probably won�t put this down for awhile. Every time you play, it just makes you want to keep playing until you get passed the mission. Then as soon as you get passed it, you learn about another mission and you must go do it.

One word -- beautiful.

The graphics in Xenosaga is simply breathtaking. It feels just like a true 3-D anime. From the excellent character design to the lush FMVs � Xenosaga takes the cake in transition from Xenogears.

When you�re not watching the game, you get to play it finally. The FMVs play out for a very long time. As I said earlier, it feels like a 3-D anime � because it basically is one!

Can get a little annoying at times, but it's an RPG.

Another very well designed thing about this game is the audio. Who better than Yasunori Mitsuda to do the music though? (He did the music for Chrono Cross and Xenogears). Xenosaga�s in-game sound track is amazing -- it�s actually worth buying so you can listen to it while you�re not playing Xenosaga. From every boss fight to just wandering around, Xenosaga is eye candy.

I love RPGs, I love Xenosaga!

To elaborate, Xenosaga doesn't play like a traditional RPG. You do not travel to towns, villages, dungeons, so on and so forth. A lot of traditional RPG fans may be disappointed here. Although you can't prance around in merry little villages, you do have the ability to visit unique areas - but they are the kind that you probably won't be able to go back to until way later in the game. Here's where the EVS (Environmental Simulator) comes in! This allows you to revisit any place that is previously explored by your party. (YAY!) The only real reason I've found for this is just to go get items that you left behind, but isn't it fun to go back to an area just for the sheer fact that it's beautiful?

If you are into RPGs any at all, check out Xenosaga.

After all is said and done, and the smoke is cleared, Xenosaga is an absolutely wonderful experience. Once you play the game, you'll never forget it. After looking forward to it for one and a half years, I'm finally glad it's here and I enjoy every minute of it now that it is. The graphics, music, voice acting, and gameplay are one of the best I've seen in a very long time from an RPG. Even though I hate doing this; I have to take off some points on the cinemas being so long and the very small lip-sync problem. People may not like it all of the in-game cinemas as much as I do, so I had to take that into account. Xenosaga is the start of something great - so stick around because you'll be glad when it's all over.